Posts Tagged ‘Broker-Check’

Of all the questions facing investors these days, I would think two of the most important are: (1) with whom are you doing business? (2) how much are you paying for the investment product being pitched to you?

Watch this 6-minute clip and you will understand why I write at length, both at my blog and in my book, on the need for real transparency on Wall Street and especially within the regulatory system so as to help people avoid the perils and pitfalls that inevitably come their way when unsavory characters call on them.

I touched on this topic a few weeks back to expose the fact that Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization FINRA allowed close to 97% of the data on its Broker Check system to be “expunged” over a two and a half year period (mid-2009 to late 2011).

What might they have allowed the industry to hide in doing so? Even the host takes a less than subtle shot at FINRA in this segment.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority “routinely” strips out some possible red flags on brokers from its database in the information it makes available to investors, according to a study released Thursday by an organization of lawyers who represent investors in claims against brokers. (more…)